In this fascinating book, Julie Ingersoll draws on years of research, Reconstructionist publications, and interviews with believers to paint the most complete portrait of the Christian Reconstructionist movement yet published.

God has a plan to make your life count for eternity. Stop wasting it. You want your life to matter. To mean something. But if you’re like most people, you probably don’t have a compelling answer to the question, “What are you going to do with your life?” In this book, J.D. Greear considers Jesus’ radical call to give your life away to the greatest cause of all. To view your life from the perspective of eternity. To start making decisions now that you’ll be glad you made then. It’s time to put your “yes” on the table and let God put it on the map.

Diggit worries that stopping to help a lost squirrel will put them behind schedule.

Is gospel Christianity dead? Pundits are writing the obituary of historic, orthodox Christianity, but pastor and author J. D. Greear (Gospel, Stop Asking Jesus into Your Heart) believes the postmortems are premature. Jesus promised to build his church. He said that the gates of hell would not prevail against it. The church is not going away. Along with this promise, Jesus gave clear instructions for how the church would prevail. He promised to build it on the rock of the gospel. The most pressing need for Christianity today is not a new strategy. It is not an updated message. It is a return to keeping the gospel above all.

The authors introduce the faith's charismatic early leaders, Joseph Smith and Brigham Young, delve deeply into Mormon rites and traditions, follow the adventurous trail of Mormon pioneers into the West, evoke the momentous rise of Salt Lake City, and describe the numerous skirmishes and court battles between the Mormons and their neighbors, other religions, and the American government. They describe the church's formidable institutional apparatus, the unique role of women in Mormon affairs, both before and after the Mormons' practice of polygamy, and how the church has addressed the challenges of modernity. Throughout, the Bushmans demonstrate how the rise of a small and persecuted movement intersected and even transformed the history of the American nation.

The prophet Brigham Young taught the restored gospel of Jesus Christ in a basic, practical way that gave inspiration and hope to the Saints struggling to build a home in the wilderness. Though more than a century has now passed, his words are still fresh and appropriate for us today as we continue the work of building the kingdom of God. President Young declared that as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints we possess the “doctrine of life and salvation for all the honest-in-heart” (DBY, 7). He promised that those who receive the gospel in their hearts will have awakened “within them a desire to know and understand the things of God more than they ever did before in their lives” and will begin to “inquire, read and search and when they go to their Father in the name of Jesus he will not leave them without a witness” (DBY, 450). This book reflects the desire of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles to deepen the doctrinal understanding of Church members and to awaken within them a greater desire to know the things of God. It will inspire and motivate individuals, priesthood quorums, and Relief Society classes to inquire, read, search, and then go to their Father in Heaven for a witness of the truth of these teachings. Each chapter contains two sections—“Teachings of Brigham Young” and “Suggestions for Study.” The first section consists of extracts from Brigham Young’s sermons to the early Saints. Each statement has been referenced, and the original spelling and punctuation have been preserved; however, the sources cited will not be readily available to most members. These original sources are not necessary to have in order to effectively study or teach from this book. Members need not purchase additional references and commentaries to study or teach these chapters. The text provided in this book, accompanied by the scriptures, is sufficient for instruction. Members should prayerfully read and study President Young’s teachings in order to gain new insights into gospel principles and discover how those principles apply to their everyday lives. By faithfully and prayerfully studying these selections, Latter-day Saints will have a greater understanding of gospel principles and will more fully appreciate the profound and inspired teachings of this great prophet. The second section of each chapter offers a series of questions that will encourage thoughtful contemplation, personal application, and discussion of President Young’s teachings. Members should refer to and carefully reread his words on the principle being discussed. Deep and prayerful study of these teachings will inspire members to greater personal commitment and will help them resolve to follow the teachings of the Savior, Jesus Christ. If individuals and families prayerfully follow the principles in this book, they will be blessed and inspired to greater dedication and spirituality, as were the early Saints who heard these words directly from the lips of the “Lion of the Lord” (HC, 7:434)—the prophet, seer, and revelator, President Brigham Young.

A Proper foundation is an indispensable part of any structure, when believers dig deep and prepare sound on the rock, the building will withstand any storm. Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. Luke 6:47-48 The first part of any walk of faith is to dig deep! strong foundations will stand for eternity in God's kingdom. Foundations are platforms for personal Christian growth that allow the Lord to use a person for kingdom purposes. Some believers have substructures that are weak. It is necessary to dig up the cracked foundations to get to bedrock before building. A strong foundation is a preparation to receive growth.

Building God’s Kingdom studies how the encounter with nineteenth century Madagascar influenced the Norwegian Protestant mission. Drawing upon rich Norwegian and Malagasy sources, entangled and multivocal stories are allowed to unfold, revealing the complex dynamics of mission encounters. Tracing Malagasy agency and pursuit of churchly independence in pre-colonial and colonial Madagascar, this study explores the power-struggles between the Malagasy, the missionaries and between the mission in Norway and Madagascar. Through careful attention to context and agency, Karina Hestad Skeie provides new perspectives on the interplay between the local and the global in Christian missions, and on the centrality and restrictions of local agency on mission policy.